Would food trucks be wiped out if AB 1678 passes?

This is a City of San Francisco map depicting 1,000 feet areas of schools. Imagine if each one was increased by 50%. That would be a forbidden food truck zone.

Last week, Bill Monning (D-Carmel) introduced a bill (AB1678) into the California State Legislature that seeks to ban mobile food vending within 1,500 feet of elementary and secondary schools from 6am to 6pm on any day that the school is in session. Because those third graders are always wandering off campus for lunch.

(The full text of the bill is here. Stay tuned for Scoop’s interview with Monning.)

Obviously, 1,500 feet is a significant radius, and as Jonathan Kauffman points out, this is not good news for food trucks at all. However, it’s worth noting that San Francisco already has an ordinance in place that bans food trucks within 1,500 feet from middle and high schools, though Supervisor Scott Weiner is working to reduce that distance.

But as Kauffman notes, there are a few important differences, depending on how the AB1678 wording is interpreted. The San Francisco ban is only for the public right of way (e.g., sidewalks and streets); private property is OK. It’s unclear whether this proposal would change that. Monning says it’s very early in the process and he’s also unclear on the private property angle.

The other big difference is that it includes elementary schools, making the “school zone” that much more expansive.

To depict how much the new banned area would affect San Francisco’s food trucks, Burrito Justice did the lord’s work and conjured up a map of the forbidden zones and the current truck locations.

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Yes, if AB1678 passes and Burrito Justice’s map is mostly accurate, a number of the city’s trucks would certainly appear to be in jeopardy.

That said, the majority on the map would seemingly be unaffected, and all evening and weekend truck appearances (like Off the Grid Fort Mason/Haight/Berkeley) would presumably be fine, since those are on off-hours.

But it’s not just about losing a Asian taco truck or a pun-filled sandwich one. It’s about silly regulations.

Just for kicks, the San Francisco Planning Department website has an interactive map depicting the areas of 1,000 feet around schools (pictured above).

Wonder where that iconic combination KFC-Taco Bell on Duboce falls? Oh, it’s by several schools.

The Richmond’s late-night Jack-in-the-Box has been in the news a lot lately for violating permits to stay open 24/7. It got everything resolved, but is it close to schools? Glad you asked:

How about Jamba Juice, home of the 30 oz. Chocolate Mood’ Power Smoothie? The drink contains more sugar than two pints of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and has 900 calories. Where does a Jamba Juice fall on the map?

We could go on, but you get the point.

Surely there are some positives to take away from the issue (healthy food for kids = very, very good!), but as Cohen pointed out, this is an issue that should be tackled with a fine brush, not broad strokes.